Concentrating process.



J. W. BELL.' GONGENTRATING PROCESS. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 19, 1908.

Patented Mar. 28, 1911.

risica.

JoHN W. BELL, or MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

CONCNTRATING PROCESS;

ceases. l

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. BELL, a subject of the King of Great' Britain, a resident of Mont-real, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented anfinprovement in Concentrating Processes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to a process for treating coinminuted, ore and other materials.

My invention may be' best understood by i the following description of my process as storage tank; and, Figut is a plan view of the classifier cover.

Referring to the drawing; For convenience of description the comminuted ore or material of any description to be treated will be hereinafter referred to as sand i. The sand is supplied with 'just enough water or `other liquid to enable it to flow readily and uniformly through an orifice. Experin ments have shown that the proper admixture of water canbe secured by allowing the sand to settle in the Water and to accumulate in a mass over the orifice, the sand particles settling into contact with eachother, and the interstitial spaces therebetween being filled with water. It will be understood, of course, that the terni sand distinguishes from theterin slimes or from material having tlie fineness of'impalpable powder., since sliines or powder when settled would pack closely and -would tend to fill the interstitial spaces between the 'sand particlesthereby preventing them from being filled with water as described. The mixture of sand and water, hereinafter referred to as i ysaturated sand `may be fed at a-uiiiforiii raie to ,any suitable concentrating apparatus for classifying the sand by means of a cone-shaped hopper or feeder l. ny ex- Snecieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Main-'28, i911.

Application filed October 19,1908. Serial No. 458,363.

cess water rising above the sand may, flow over the upper rim of said feeder intoa launder or trough *2, which encircles the cone-feeder l near its top, so that by the con- .tinuous over-fionY of water the head of water over the orifice is maintained substantially constant and any sand carried along with this over-flow may be separately treated 'if found to contain slimes in suspension.

To draw the settled sands away from the sides of the interior of the cone-feeder 1 and prevent the same from forming a vortex: or from being scooped out of the center thereof, the feeder may be provided with a small double cone 3, conveniently of sheetv metal, arranged a short distance above a discharge orifice 4t and supported by radial 'bars 5 secured to the feeder wall.

To indicate the pressure of the water close to the orifice 4 a tube communicates with the feeder just above saidorifice, and has a. glass tube extending upwardly into the trough 2. In order to regulate the dis -charge from said feeder (Fig. a water pipe 8, controlled by a valve 9, is led into the orifice 4f.v By a proper conti-ol of the water passing therethrough a small pressure of Water at this point will diminish the tlischarge of the sand from the feeder, and is capable of reducing the output from full to no discharge, since by opening the valve 9 sufficiently the sand in the feeder is buoyed up by the water filling' said orifice, and, if the pressure is great enough. water alone is discharged therethrough.

The continuous passage of sand and 'water through the orifice 4 will tend to wear it away. In order to provide new orifices and orifices of various size to insure uniform feed, a diaphragm or circular platev l0, having oenings 10 of-various sizes,` may be,

inoun ed on a pivot pin 11 and rotated intd positions of adjustment by a suitable crank 12- attached thereto. becomes worn a new opening or a different sized opening may be rotated around into, registration with said orifice 4 and held in' position by the tightening nut 1B on thev As fast as one orifice contiguous to the lower face of the plate 10 and may .be moved to any desired extent across one of the openings therein by means of a hand screw 15, mounted in a bracket 16 depending from a flanged plate 17 which embraces the end of the feeder 1 and: may

be extended laterally to form'a further sup.v

v venient for the mill operative to climb up to inspect said window and, in order to enable a ready observation of the level formed by the top of the material resting against the glass, and to observe the progress of the material in the feeder 1, an electric lamp 20 or other equivalent device may be introduced into the interior of the tank and attached at any convenient place and protected by asuitable transparent globe 21 if desired. Said lamp may be mounted in an iron plug 22 having a recess 23 -for the lamp socket, said recess being preferably filled with marine glue and the lamp and socket made water tight by insulating tape.

Means for observing the level of material in said feeder enables the attendant to see and make sure that the level of the settled sands is maintained sufficiently above the feeder orifice to prevent a free fiow of water therethrough.

The material to be classified is discharged into the feeder in varying amounts and is allowed to settle in water. By preventing free flow of water through the discharging orifice by keeping the level of the saturated sand above said orifice the saturated sand will be discharged at a uniform rate per `minute, the'ate depending en the size of the orifice and theA size of the material passing therethrough. The level of the sand in the feeder rises if the sand is fed in faster than it is discharged, '.and lfalls when it is fed in slowerzthanit is discharged. The discharge. however, is uniform and the feeder-thus acts asi-a compensator for the irregularities in thefcedtothe y of the sand level has noteifect on the discharge, aslongvas free fiow of water through the discharge orifice is prevented.

The-bestclassification depends on feeding alarge amount of sand mixed with a small amount of water, and this is effected by -means ofthe feeder described above. lt maybe supposed that the feeder is filled with dry sand. Sand will pour out of the orifice 4 at an absolutely uniform rate, irrespective of the depth of sand in the feeder.

feeder, since the rise and fall' Sandlsaturated with water also flowsoutat a uniform rate, but with this differende, that the,frictional.resistance between the Sandi particles''is ,diminished by virtue of t-he water which occupies the spaces between the sand particles and, consequently, the sand flows more freely and the rate is increased.

The proportion offsandl and water discharged dependsupon the size and specific gravity of the ore material, but roughly the discharge from this feeder consists of about one-third -water'and two-thirds sand. The

rate of Water discharged through said ori- `fiee is much less than the rate of water that would be discharged through the orifice if the feeder. 1 were filled with water `and the pressure were dependent on the hydrostatic head above the orifice,as the sandoffers a passage of the water through the. spaces between the sand particles and the iow of the sand through the orifice also retards the exit of the-water. The small amount of water discharged is, amount of pressure and helps drive t-he sand large' amount of frictional resistance to the of course, under a small v slightly, but the great uniformity of the discharge indicates that we have here a 'combination yof two pressures-the pressure of the sand obeying the same law as obtains in the dry sand feeder, and the slight water pressure or head possible considering the enormous frictional resistance offered by the sand particles to the flow of the water therethrough.

It will be noted that the pressure on the bottom of the feeder is small compared to the pressure or weight carried by the sides thereof, and this explains the absolute uniformity of the feed.

For asserting the sand coming from said feeder 1, any suitable classifier may be employed, preferably placed directlyloeneath said feeder.

'In the present embodiinent of my invention I employ a hydraulic classifier, herein a cylindrical tank 24- comprising concentric walls 25 26 spaced apart to form a narrow, annular chamber or classifying space Q7.

rVhc inner wall 26 may extend upwardly`be3 iis Said cover herein comprises i youd' the outer wall 25 and be attached to the cover 28.

an annular' ring 28 having cross pieces`29 1 forming'a central hub 30 having an open ing 31', and may. be supported on a collar he introduced into.the classifier through' said cover 28 and a ldownwardly extending cames tube 3ll attached to rthe opening 3l therein.

A water pipe 32 for creating an upward fiow of water in the classifier. extends -upwardly in the center thereof to a .pointa short distance' below said tube 3l. The sand from vthe tube 31 does not strike the Water directly as the latter issues from s aid pipe 32, but its iow is interrupted and its 'direction .temporarily chan ed bya circular cup 33 the inner wall 26, the latter having an` interrupted annular opening 35 cut just above into the chamber 27. The water passingv this juncture, leaving a small` amount o f metal sufficient to support said parts.

The sand passes over the edge of the cup 33 downwardlyv and is diverted to the opening 35 by the cone 34 and passes into the annular chamber 27, where it meets the upward flow of water-.which has passed from the pipe 32 under the cone 34 down bythe inner .side of the wall 26 around its end up through this eddy chamber 20 in an indirect path is freed from eddies which disappear as the water vturns to rise in the elassifying space 27, and when it reaches, the sand is of uniform pressure and .velocity throughout. The heavier or larger sand particles called'spigot product, will'gravitate downwardly through the annular chamber 27, while smaller or lighter portions of the ore particles, called overflow product, follow with the current of the water upwardly into the annular space 27, flowing over the edge of the classifier` wall 25 throughthe outlet andbetween the top of thev classifier an'd said cover 28 and pass through a launder 38 encircling said classifier. Said launder may be Secured to the exterior of they classifier in any convenient'manner, as by flanges 39 pfastened thereto by suitable bolts 40 and may be arranged atan angle inclinethto deliver the matf Ifl;1,l ed therein throi'igh a lateral trough'l. I` l As Aheretofore described, lby means of the rfeeder 1 a much larger alnountof 'sand than, .water may be "fed to theclass1ficr.- How- Aever, '1f the comparatively small amount. of

. vwater coming into the classifier were to pass down with the sand through the opening` 35 into the annular space 2 7-, the latter con'- taining' the rising vcurrent of water which effects the classication, it would be apparent-:that theadditional amount of `water 05 would increase the velocity of the water' in lthe uppeian'nular spaces 27', since the lati tergvouldhave to take care of the water coming in'with the sand-in addition to the rising current. velocity, a sufficient number of pipes `42 may To avoid this increase nbe introduced radially into the central annular space 43 surrounding the tube-31, and beprovided with cocks 44, which may be adjusted to carry off the amount of water coming in with the sand. This provision for carrying off the additional water maintains the velocity of the rising current in theannular space 27,27 constant in all` parts thereof.

Nothing but the very finest particles of ore'material would be likely to be drawn olf through these pipes 42, said pipes discharging into the trough 38, which carries off the overflow from the classifier. rated sand is discharged so far below the suction of pipes 42, that all of said sand willV pass into the classifying space 27, but if any fine particles should rise to the height of the vpipes 42, they will be discharged and mixed with their proper class, namely, the overflow product. i

vAny air which may be present in the 'eddy chamber 20 or which may be .introduced by the current of water passing through the pipe 32, on starting the classifier and from time to time thereafter, may be drawn off by a small pipe 45 which may be led into said classifier to extendaiearly to the under side of the cup 33, and maybe controlled by a.

suitable valve 46.

The mineral or a spigot product which succeeds in gravitating through the upward flew of water may be received and delivered by a combined accumulating and discharge tank 47, or spigot produ'ctf feeder, herein of cylindrical shape and of greaterdiameter than said classifier, and attached thereto by a flange 48 ybolted to a ring 49 on the loiver end of the wall 25 of said classifier. The accumulation tank thus forms an enlarged end or continuation of the classifier, the heavier sand particles dropping directly therein from the annular chamber 27 and accumulating or piling up therein at a rate dependent on the rate of delivery of materiall thereto and therefrom. i

To control the delivery from the accumulating and discharge tank 47, 'a cone hopper 50 may be attached to the lower end of said tank. This hopper herein is mounted in' any suitable frame 5 1', and may be provided at its upper end with outwardly extending fianges 52, which may be securely fastened `to the flanges 53 on the lower end of the tank 47,

by means of bolts 54. This cone hopper 50 controls the delivery of the accumulated product and is substantially similar in construction to the feeder cone 1. More specifically, said cone hopper is preferably provided with a double cone 55wl1ich may be at7 taehed to the interior of the hopper 50 by suitable radial supporting members 5G. To

control the output through the orifice 57,

there may be provided a pipe 5.8, an orifice diaphragm 57 anda manually7 eontroiled slide 59, similar to the corresponding devices in the cone-feeder l (Fig. 3).

To enable a ready observation of the level of the material and to see that the settled material is maintained at a level sufficiently above the orifice to prevent free flow of water through the discharge orifice in the spigot product feeder, as said material accumulates in the tank 50, the latter may be co structed of transparent material, such as glass, or as herein shown, said tank may be rovided .with a vertical window 60 extendying approximately the entire length thereof. Ready observation of the conditions within saidtank 36 may be facilitated by an electric lamp 60, or other equivalent device,4 introduced therein. Herein said lamp is snpported by an the lower ring tric lamp in its detail is substantially similar to the lamp 20 hereinbefore described.

The comminuted ore or sand is fed by the feeder at a uniform rate., consequently t/he observed relative rate of rise and fall of the level of material in the feeder and accumulating tank respectively indicates the proportion of heavier particles in the orc material. The accumulation tank thus acts as a gage of the rate of formation of the spigot product. Said tank also operates to deliver the accumulated product at a uniform rate, since the conehopper is constructed similar to the cone-feeder.

The means for observing the accumulation of spigotv product in the spigot product feeder, permits the attendant to keep the level of the product therein sufficiently high to prevent the free .fiow of vatertherethrough as in the cone-feeder described b above..

There must not be a free flow of water vthrough 'the spigot productfeeder, since it would suddenly diminish the water rising in the classifying space and this reduction in the upward fiowof water would allow material to fall through, which should pass off in the overflow.

As long as the level of' the spigot product is sufficiently above the tank orifice, the spigot product discharge will be uniform and there will be no interference with a uniform upward fiow of water in the classifying space.

As the material is discharged from the tank 50 it is desirable to raise it to a higher' level. and to effect this a hydraulic lift (Si). may be provided. Preferably this lift is located directhv below the orifice 57, in or- .derl to receive material therefrom. and in the present embodiment comprises a flaring hopper (33. havingl a neck '(34 (Fig. 3). A four-way combining chamber or fittingf may be fastened at one end to said neck (34, and, at its opposite end is preferably provided with a plug 0G. the latter permity combining chamber .iron plugGl introduced into'A 49 of the classifier. This elec- .from the receptacle,

ting access to the interior of said chamber for purposes of cleaning. The water for effecting the lift may the union G5 by means of a pipe G7, termi* nating in a nozzle 68, the latter being held in place in one of the side openings of said and extends into and occupies a central position therein.

In order to prevent any impurities being fed into/ the hydraulic lift to mix with the accumulated product or choke the nozzle, any suitable strainer 69 may posed in said pipel 67.- Any accumulation in said strainer- `may be flushed out through the valve 70. The water fory creating the be introduced into be interg lifting effect passes through the pipe 67 ,the

strainer 69, through the nozzle 68, and into*l the uniting chamber 65, and forces t-he material fed therein through-the pipe 7l introduced into the opposite opening of theunion (35, upwardly through said pipe Tl and discharges through the goose-neck 72.

To facilitate the flow of the accumulated product throughn the hopper 63 a water pipe or sprinkler 73 may be provided, shaped to conform to the upper,

under side as at 74e. The passage of the water through said pipe 73 m'ay be controlled by any suitable valve 75.

Previous forms of'classifiers receive the sand to be classified mixed with and carried to the classifier in about ten volumes of water to one of sand, that is, seven times as muchwater by weightl as sand in the feed, whereas by the feeder shown hereinl the amount of water is reduced to about one-half in amount by weight of`- the weight of the sand. f y In classifiers where the excess of water in the feed flows 0H at the top, some form of chamber or receptacle of co1nparativelyfy still inner, peripheral surface of said hopper 63, and perforated on its' about six or water is necessary to enable the sandfparf tieles to settle and meet the upward fiow of current. This inevitably causes the accumulation of a material which can neither' sink through the upward current nor escape said accumulation interfering greatly with the presentation of following grains to the upward current; er, if this accumulation is prevented by making all of th'cI water move with sufficient velocity to carry them oflt` after being ejected by the rising current, then a slnicing action'is brought into play, which again is bound to result in poor classification.

Other forms of classifiers pass-the water comingin with the feed, into the rising current, causing 'variations in velocity which result in poor classification.

It will be observed that thev apparatus sliownherein avoids these troubles, the feeder described herein feeding the comminuted ore at a constant rate amount of water coming into the classifier and the smallwith the teed being. independently carried ott through the pipesj42,`thus permitting a constant velocity in the upward current of water and a resulting uniform classifica tion of the ore particles.

' lt will also be observed that the feed trom acterized by comminuting ore to form sand,

Settling said sand in water and removing slimes therefrom to form saturated sand, accumulating a inass ot said saturated sand and contii'iuously discharging thesame -i'roin said mass while maintaining the latter ot sullicient bulli to prevent gravit-ation of tree water therethrough and under a substanvtially constant head of Water whereby to obtain asubstantially constant rate of delivery. p

Q. A process of treating ore material characterized by comminuting ore andiseparating fine material therefrom to leave sand, accumulating a mass of said sand and continuously discharging the same from said masswhile maintaining` the latter ofsuiicient bulk above said discharge point to obtain constantly a substantial'head whereby to obtain a substantially constant'rrate of delivery. l

3. A process of treating ore material characterized by comminuting ore. to form sand, settling said sand in water and removing 'slimes therefrom to form saturated sand, accumulating a mass of said saturated sand and continuously discharging the same from said massA while maintaining the latter ot' sufficient bulk to prevent gravitation of free water therethrough andv under a substantially constant head of water whereby to obtain a substantially constant rate of des livery and then introducing this constant tloiv of sand into a How of Water to permit the heavier ore particles to settle by`theii' gravitatibn lthrough said water and cause the lighter ore particles to be carried away with said HOW.

4. A process of treating ore material characterized by comminuting ore to form sand,

settling said sand in Water to form saturated sand,4 accumulating a mass of said saturated' sand and discharging the saine from said mass while maintaining thelatter of sufficient bulk to prevent 'gravitation 'of free water therethrough and under a substantially constant `head of Water 'whereby to obtain a substantially constant rate of delivery; then introducing this constant flow ot' sand into a uniform upward How of water to separate out the heavier ore particles by theirv gravitation through said ivater'and cause the lighter ore particles to be carried away with said flow, settling said heaviei` particles through said flomaccumu lating the same in a mass beneath said up-v ward flow and discharging the particles from said mass while maintaining i the latter of suiiicient bulkl to prevent gravita tion of free water therethrough and under a substantially constant head of water,` Where'- by to obtain a substantially constant rate of delivery of said heavierY particles and to contribute to the inaintenanceof the uniformity of the curi-ent of Water.

5. A process of treating ore characterized by comminuting the ore7 feeding the samel .vii

into a uniformly rising current of Waterl to;

separate said -ore into spigot and overfli'v; product, accumulating'said spigot proilhct in the form of a mass of saturated sand be iieath said Water'and discharging the sand from said mass While maintaining tlielatter of suiiicient bulk to prevent gravitation of free water therethrough whereby to obtain a substantially constant rate of delivery of the spigot product and prevent disturbance of the uniformity of the rising current above said accumulated product.

Gf A process of treating ore characterized by comminuting the ore7 feeding the saine into a uniformly rising current of Water t0 separate said ore into spigot and overflowV product, accumulating said spigot product in the form of a mass oir' saturated sand beneath said water and discharging sand from said mass while maintaining the latter of suiiicient hulk to prevent gravitation of free water therethrough and under. a substantially constant head of water whereby to obtain a substantially constant rate of delivery ofthe spigot product and a substan tially uniform rising current.

7. A process ot treating ore characterized by comminuting the ore to form sand, settling said sand in water to form saturated sand, accumulating a mass ott said saturated sand and discharging the saine from said mass whilemaintaining the latter of sufficient bulk to prevent gravitation of free water therethrough and under a substantially constant head of water whereby'to` obtain a substantially constant rate of devent gravitation of free-Water therethrough l In testimony whereof, I have/signed my and under a substantially constant head of name to this specification, in the presencf Water whereby to obtain a substantially conoftwo subscribing Witnesses.

stant rate of delivery of said heavier part JOHN W'. BELL. ticles and to contribute to the maintenance Witnesses: l

of the 'uniformity of the upward flow of C. MAUDE Ross,. water.. j Y l l l JOSHUA A. BELL. 

